Protesting to accepting any form of medicine was pointless, now that Joly had brought Cosette into the equation, for it was true that he could not protect her in his current state. His silence was an agreement that he hoped Joly understood.

And it did soothe him, the stroking of his hair; it caused his body to relax further and his eyes to close against his will. A soft hum of agreement was the only sound he made for a few seconds, which he then followed with, "It was a wedding in a garden ablaze with fairy-lights. The stars bowed before her beauty, that night."

Truth be told, that minuscule spot of happiness was the only light that kept him sane under the darkness of the Capitol. And he hated himself for it; he hated that he needed her here with him even when she did not deserve the hell that was a consequence of her existence in this world. His next regret-suffused words were both for Joly and for her. "I am sorry you are here."